‘Special connection with Pakistan’: US senator Van Hollen, eyeing 2028 presidential bid, was born in Karachi

US Democrat Senator Christopher Van Hollen, who has set his sights on contest for the American president’s office in 2028, was born in Karachi.

According to his biography on Maryland Manual Online — a website run by the Maryland state government — he was born in the port city in 1959.

Van Hollen himself spoke of his “special connection” with Pakistan in a clip released on the country’s Independence Day last year.

“I am proud to join you in celebrating Pakistan’s 79th Independence Day. I am fortunate to have a special connection with Pakistan, having been born in Karachi as the son of an American foreign service officer.

“Throughout my life, I have experienced first hand the generosity, the goodness and the determination of the Pakistani people. I am proud to celebrate the strong people-to-people ties between the our two countries […] I look forward to further strengthening the ties of friendship between the Amercians and the Pakistani people,” he said in a short message.

In 2021, Van Hollen had thanked thanked Pakistan among other countries for helping evacuate American nationals and others stranded in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of the country.

Apart from Pakistan, the Maryland senator also spent time in India, where he studied at Kodaikanal International School in the Tamil Nadu state. He later studied philosophy at Swarthmore College, followed by his masters in public policy from Harvard University. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University and was admitted to Maryland Bar in 1990.

He is a member of the US Senate since January 2017. Previously, he had also been a member of the US House of Representatives from 2003 to 2017.

Following the Republicans’ thumping defeat in the recently held midterms, Van Hollen was seen as a possible replacement of Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer.

However, he put the speculation to rest by telling Fox 5, which is owned by the Fox Broadcasting Company, he had “made clear that I’m not looking to be the next Democratic leader. I’ve been kicking the tires on a 2028 presidential election“.